


Steamrolling Together

by NessieFromSpace



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: Accidental Bonding, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Steampunk, M/M, Possibly explicit in the future I haven't decided yet sorry, Tassiter attacks Rhys and tries to sacrifice him, The violent part is clumped together and only one part, Wilhelm the uncle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-24
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-09-24 12:35:15
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17100701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NessieFromSpace/pseuds/NessieFromSpace
Summary: After Rhys is attacked and put to sacrifice, he gets away, teleporting on accident to Jack's mansion, a refuge for the magical with problems. They gather and he helps fix their problems. This is his intention with Rhys, and with some well crafted flirting, maybe a little bit more.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> For the gift exchange! For Adiamondpony on Tumblr!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Update! adiamondpony @onediamondpony on twitter drew the artwork added to the story!

1834

 

The morning was bright and warm with a cool breeze that swayed the curtains and roused Rhys from his sleep. He smiled at the sun and stretched. Sitting up, he went to the gramophone and turned it on, playing his favorite song as he got dressed and attached his mechanical arm to his right shoulder. It was revolutionary even in these days, where ships flew and robots helped around the house. He was the only one with such an advanced prosthetic, but when your uncle was an inventor, it was easy to be the first in line- or sometimes the test subject. The experiments had never been torturous though, unless Rhys counted that time his uncle tried making cookies.

He turned the music off and went downstairs to start breakfast. He pulled the newspaper and fresh milk in from the front steps and set the paper for his uncle to read once he woke up. As the kettle heated on the gas oven and potatoes began to slowly cook, he went down into his uncle’s lab to turn the robots on. He smiled when they chirped and began to hover and move to do their daily chores about the lab.

“Good morning,” Rhys bowed. “Do your best! You’ll do great today!”

His next stop was to his uncle who would sleep the day away if Rhys never woke him up. The room was dark, the double curtains clipped shut. Rhys unclipped them. “Good morning Uncle Wil! It’s time to get up. I even waited until seven-thirty!” With one motion, he threw the curtains open, exposing the sun to the room. His uncle, a hardened veteran, growled as the sun hit his face.

“Dammit, Rhys, close the damn curtains!”

“Can’t do that, it’s time to get up.” He made his way across the room.

“Rhys! The curtains!” His uncle called to him.

“See you downstairs,” Rhys said, quickly shutting the door as his uncle bellowed at him, his voice shaking the house.

Rhys got to the kettle as it started to whistle and began to steep the tea and remove the eggs and potatoes from the stove. By the time his uncle was stomping down the stairs, muttering and cursing under his breath, like he did every morning Rhys had to wake him up. Rhys was smiling as he had breakfast on the table and his uncle’s tea just the way he liked it, strong with two cubes.

He did not say anything to his uncle while they ate, letting him wake up fully. He read the paper and sipped his tea between bites. Rhys opened his current book, an adventure novel, and read it while he ate.

“You’re going to work today, Roo?” His uncle asked, voice rough like gravel.

“Yes.”

Folding down the paper, his uncle, with one eye covered in a metal eye patch, looked at Rhys. “Remember to call me if anything happens.”

“I know.”

“ _Anything._ Even the slightest thing that doesn’t seem different, but gives you a weird feeling. You trust your gut.”

“I know.”

“Magic isn’t forbidden, but you are special and your talents are rare and if they discover that, they’ll use you for their own gain.”

“Yes, Uncle.”

“Don’t let anyone see your arm, the moment they see those markings, they’ll know.”

“I remember uncle Wil.”

Nodding, his uncle flipped the newspaper back up and went back to reading. It was the same conversation every morning. Ever since Rhys had been born, he’d had light blue tattoos that scrawled up his left side and down his left arm. His parents had had to move right after he was born to keep him safe. They’d explained the importance to him to never show them to anyone and repeated it to him throughout the day. They’d only had to relocate once, when Rhys had been playing with his friends and had rolled up his sleeve to get a stone out of the water. Then, after his parents had died a month later, Uncle Wilhelm had taken him in.

He had been born with magic, a trait that was extremely rare. Sure, there were wizards and other magical creatures and beings, but they all had to learn magic and hone it over the years. Rhys didn’t need to do that. If he thought about it, it would happen. He didn’t need to utter words or create spells, he could just do it. Which meant he was an infinite power source, so if he wanted a normal life, he needed to keep it secret.

“I should be home at dinner time.” He scooped the remaining food into his mouth, drained his tea and set his dishes in the sink. “Love you Uncle!”

“Love you, too, Roo. Remember to call if-”

“Anything goes wrong, I remember!” Rhys called, leaving the house. The cafe he worked at was only a few blocks away. He loved his work, getting to meet so many people and make their days brighter. And it was where his two best friends worked.

“Yvette!” Rhys waved, his long sleeves light, yet solid, allowing airflow in the warm weather while hiding his markings.

She eyed him. “You’re late. You’re buying me lunch.”

He wasn’t late, but he nodded. He waved to Vaughn behind the counter and began to take orders. It was halfway through his shift that other workers around him started whispering to each other. Harold Tassiter, the founder and head of their prestigious and world famous university had dropped in and was sitting in Rhys’ section.

Glancing at him, Rhys stilled and had to force himself to look away nonchalantly. The man was tall, sitting with a leg draped over his knee in languid confidence. His tall brimmed hat rested perfectly on his gelled hair. He looked ancient, and yet, almost like he hadn’t aged a day. But that hadn’t been what had made Rhys react though, it had been what he’d seen in his left eye. The damaged, milky eye that now only saw the auras of people. This man’s was thick and oozed black that seeped out of him, lingering in horrid, clinging trails. Each patch slinked to the closest person to suck a small bit of essence from them.

He wanted to run, but instead, he squared his shoulders and headed over to the man, readying himself to act normal. However, the closer Rhys got the more and more rigid his body became and the harder it was to keep his warm smile. His heart thumped wildly, threatening to climb out of his throat. It seemed as though all the other customers dwindled, leaving him alone and exposed before the man.

With as warm as a smile he could force, he spoke though his mouth dry. “Hello, what can we get you today?”

The man was stared at Rhys, appraising him. He smiled and it slicked slowly down Rhys like grease. “Oh, I’d like it _all_.” When Rhys’ smile faltered, the man’s widened. “A simple Earl Grey tea would be just fine, with a plain scone.”

“Coming right up!” Rhys said, his voice higher than he would have liked. The walk back was just as long, his body erupting in goosebumps, everything in him telling him to run now and hide. He could feel the man’s eyes on him as he turned the order in. His gut twisted and he forced himself not to look back. He leaned over to Vaughn, whispering. “Hey… Uh… Vaughn? Don’t make it obvious, I don’t want him to know we’re talking about him, but… Can… Can you see if…” The idea of saying his name seem to clog Rhys’ throat. “Can you see if that headmaster of the university is, is watching me?”

Frowning, Vaughn kept his eyes on his work. They were silent as Vaughn worked, the air swelling and almost crackling around Rhys. And then Vaughn handed a tea to a customer and for a moment Rhys thought Vaughn hadn’t heard him.

“Yes,” Vaughn said as he continued to work.

All of Rhys’ breath left him. “I’ll be a moment…” He slipped behind the counter to the back room where the phone sat untouched. He asked the operator for his uncle’s number. His foot tapped furiously as the phone rang. “C’mon, _c’mon_!”

“What!?” came the familiar gruff annoyed answer.

“Uncle,” Rhys sighed.

“What?” His uncle’s manner changed instantly, turning cool and smooth.

“There’s a…” This time, Rhys couldn’t help it. He turned and looked in the direction of the man. “You know… The… The headmaster of the university?”

“Tas-”

“Don’t!” Rhys snapped. He lowered to a whisper. “Don’t say his name… He’ll… He’ll _know_.”

“Rhys, what is wrong?”

“I… I have to serve him and… He’s giving me weird feelings, uncle, like… like what you’ve warned me about…”

“Come home immediately. Go out the back. Don’t talk to anyone. I’ll head over.”

Rhys set the phone on the hook and made his way out of the cafe, passing Yvette who was sneaking back in from smoking. “Rhys?”

“You didn’t see me, alright?” Rhys whispered. He held her shoulders. “Please, Yvette, no matter who asks, unless it’s Vaughn. You didn’t see me.”

“Sure, but-”

“Thank you! Oh, and if you see my uncle, you can tell him.” He took off down the back alley, waiting to hear the door shut behind Yvette before he ran.

Instantly, once he was alone and before he could take off, his lungs turned to fire. He coughed, his insides twisting and raging. He staggered, hitting the brick wall of a neighboring building.

“I wasn’t _sure_ ,” the smooth voice said. Through blurred, pained vision, Rhys could see the outline of Tassiter. He walked over to Rhys, idly twirling his walking cane. “I wasn’t sure when I passed by if what I was sensing was correct, but lo and behold, I was.” He chuffed. “I _always_ am, though.” He swung his cane, jabbing it down harshly into Rhys’ ribs.

Rhys fell to the ground, wheezing and coughing.

The man crouched and tugged Rhys’ flesh arm towards him. “Let’s see here, hmm, just for amusement’s sake? Ah! There we are, look at those beautiful, blue markings. Exactly the thing I need.” He let Rhys’ arm drop, his sleeve open and loose. “Yes, you are the _perfect_ specimen.”

* * *

It rippled through Rhys like when winter sent bitter, biting winds. His body refused to move or work for him, no matter how much he tried, he couldn’t move. He felt wet on one side, on the side that hurt more than the rest. And he was burning. He didn’t want to burn. He tried to breathe through the flames inside him, but couldn’t. He didn’t like that either. Didn’t like any of this. It needed to go away. Now.

Suddenly, through the dense, hot, smoky fog, he wheezed and coughed and his vision cleared. And then his mind cleared. And the pain was so much more than it had been. It blotched his body, still too stiff to move. He tried to move his neck, but it didn’t want to, screaming while hammers pounding into his head. Slowly, he forced his neck up, his heavy eyes blinking in the dim room. He gasped and then coughed.

“You certainly woke up faster than the others.”

It was that voice again. Rhys groaned, wanting to move away from it, but something stopped him. He blinked his eyes open and looked to his left, at his wrist and arm bound onto the arm of a chair. He gasped again, more pain registering and he looked to his right, at the empty socket where his mechanical arm would attached. It looked and felt like it had been yanked harshly, disregarding the clasps.

He tried to talk, but still, only tormented gurgles and whimpers seeped from him.

“Don’t worry,” the horrid man soothed. “All your pain will be over soon. You’ll have nothing to worry about.”

Finally, he looked towards the voice. Tassiter smiled at him, suit jacket and hat off, sleeves rolled up and holding a leather bound book. He flipped through pages, allowing Rhys time to look around him. Between them, on the stone floor were lines and symbols written in chalk. It was the only thing not flooded by the black ooze of the man’s aura. It dripped from the walls and ceiling, rotting the wood and stone.

“No,” he wheezed, his voice hoarse, burning up his throat.

Tassiter laughed. “Oh, dear boy, you don’t have a choice. I’ve been on an excruciatingly long journey to get here and I am not letting it slip from my grasp.”

“No.”

“Here we are,” he said, ignoring Rhys. He pulled his finger down the page of the book, muttering to himself.

Rhys pulled on his restraints, they were only around his torso and arm, he could get out of this. Even if his head spun and throbbed, throwing his body into nausea and shivers.

Tassiter walked over to him, a hungry, excited smile on his face. “Do you know what the Stone of Khnum is?” He didn’t wait for Rhys to respond. “It’s said to be what the Egyptian god Khnum, the god of creation, stored his powers in. With it, one could be _anything_ , do _anything_ , and gain _everything_!”

Rhys winced away from him as he got close. “You’re… insane.” He coughed, his throat scratching together.

“All the best geniuses are! I’ve researched for years, aging with this ridiculous spell we deem immortality. It’s pathetic, but with this-” and he pulled out a small, clay stone vaguely resembling the head of a goat. “-with this, I can become a god!” He smirked. “With your help of course. Normal sacrifices just won’t do, and all the other sorcerers I’ve found weren’t strong enough.” He pocketed it again and then cut Rhys’ bonds, tugging him forward by the arm.

Rhys dug his feet in, refusing to go quietly. He tugged against Tassiter, panic rising. He couldn’t let this man have his way, couldn’t let it end like this! Wouldn’t.

“Enough!” Tassiter demanded, swinging the back of his hand to strike Rhys. It thundered through him, shaking his very core and giving Tassiter the edge he needed to drag Rhys to the center of the chalk circle. A harsh foot kicked at the back of Rhys’ feet, sending him crashing to the ground. He yelled, his vision momentarily black, his body shocked with even more pain.

“No!” he breathed, his voice barely there. He wasn’t going to die, he just couldn’t. He pleaded for his eyes to clear, begging for whatever magic was inside him to heal his eyes. He felt the small trickle of power inside him and he could see better, but the edges were fuzzy. In front of him on the stone, sat the clay goat’s head, staring at him with lifeless eyes.

Then Tassiter grabbed his arm, Rhys tried to yank it away, but the man had a tight grip on it, brandishing the knife he’d cut Rhys free with. He dug the blade into his wrist, stabbing deep and slicing up Rhys’ arm. Rhys screamed and thrashed, but it was no use, Tassiter had done it and was holding it over the stone, Rhys’ blood pouring over it like a waterfall.

“No!” Rhys croaked. “No!” He needed to get away, he couldn’t die. He wouldn’t die. He was made of magic, he could escape. He had to. He wasn’t going to die at the hands of his mad man. He willed himself to strike out, to throw this man away from him. He practiced everyday in his uncle’s lab, where he’d improved the walls so they wouldn’t leak magic. He could do this. He could get free. He squeezed his eyes shut, pulling at the magic that was always there. His head spun as the pain overwhelmed and the blood left him. _Help me! Save me! I need your help!_ He called to it. _I want to live! I need to survive!_

“What!?” Tassiter gasped.

Rhys opened his eyes to see sparks chasing down the stream of blood and over the stone.

“What the hell are you doing!?” He demanded.

The stone began to glow and pulse and then the glow jumped upward, using his blood as a bridge to enter his body. Rhys screamed louder than he ever had. It tore into him, ripping him apart from his arm through his whole body. It was as though hooks had caught every inch of him and were pulling him apart. Light exploded in the room, sending Tassiter flying away to crash against the stone walls, denting them. The goat head crumbled into ash, all the blood flowing back into Rhys.

Convulsing, he gasped for air, needles stabbing him everywhere. He heard Tassiter moving and swearing, trying to make his way to Rhys. Panic swelled. He needed to get out of here. He needed to hide. He needed help.

He didn’t know how, but suddenly he was outside, in the grass under the night sky. He groaned, the air biting at his tender skin.

“DAD!” he heard a woman call. “Dad! We’ve got a new one! Oh! Shit, this looks bad!” Rhys blinked as a woman, pale as the moon with hair like a raven, knelt over him. She flashed a light on him and he winced. “Don’t you worry, we’re going to help you,” she whispered. “It’s what we do.”

“Angel,” a man’s voice called. He knelt next to the woman. Rhys frowned, surely his eyes were messing with him. A brown duck was floating where he heard the man’s voice from. “Help me get him inside.”

They grabbed a hold of him and Rhys screamed, trying to scramble away. It burned him.

“Shit!” the woman hissed.

“Language, young lady.” There was silence as the duck stared at Rhys. “We’re going to have to carry him magically.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	2. Chapter 2

Rhys came to slowly this time. His body was heavy, so incredibly heavy, but the pain was distant. He fell asleep again, warm and dull. When he woke again, he heard voices. He was still just heavy, but his mind was clearer.

“What do you think happened to him?” he recognized the woman’s voice.

“I don’t know, but I hope the idiot wasn’t walking around like that. Blood everywhere, that huge cut on his arm,” the voice, the voice of the duck grunted. “He’s lucky his little suicide attempt didn’t work.”

Suicide attempt? That wasn’t right. The duck wasn’t right. Rhys would never. As he tried to remember what had really happened, his body erupted in pain and he gasped and screamed.

“What’s going on!?” the woman demanded.

“We’re waking him up,” the duck said.

The weight on Rhys’ body dissipated and the pain that rittled through him ebbed away. He blinked his eyes open, wincing at the bright sunshine. It was suddenly darker now, with just soft lights from the lamps as the curtains slid shut. On his left stood two people, a woman and a man, their auras were slightly muddled, an underlying, muted darkness that was overpowered with remorse and hope. The woman’s had less darkness, but he noticed it was the same color as the man’s. The man had a lot more, almost like an infinite well behind the others. Rhys looked at the man through his normal eye, he was incredibly handsome, with sharp features that only accentuated the steel of his multicolored eyes. And then his eyes were drawn upwards, to the man’s hair, which was slicked back in such a way that it reminded Rhys of a-

“Duck,” he said.

The two frowned. “What?”

“Your hair.”

The woman looked at the man and then laughed, giggling wildly and covering her mouth. “It does, dad! I’ve never noticed that before!”

The man’s smile was thin. “Do you remember what happened?”

Rhys frowned and thought back. All at once his memories flooded into his mind and he gasped, clutching his head with his hand. The two looked as though they wanted to help, but stayed still. The woman looked unsure.

“You remember,” the man said.

“Of course I do,” Rhys snapped, glaring. “And it _wasn’t_ a suicide attempt, asshole.”

“Language,” the man said, but he smirked.

The woman produced a glass of water and handed it to Rhys, watching him carefully. When he took it with no reaction, the two looked at each other.

“Does that hurt?” the man asked.

Rhys shook his head as he took a sip.

“We couldn’t touch you, we’ve had to use magic to do everything, you were super sensitive, you screamed when we set you down on the bed,” the woman explained.

“Oh…” Rhys said.

“So, wanna tell us what happened?”

“Dad!” the woman hissed. “Give him some time, he just woke up.” She shoved the man out of the way and smiled at Rhys. She wore a men’s suit, but it seemed to be tailored to fit her proportions. “I’m Angel and that man with the awe inspiring bedside manner is my father, Jack. We help magical beings who are in need. We’re not going to hurt you, you’re safe here. This place and the magic inside the barrier are hidden from outsiders. The only way to find this place is if you’re in extreme need for help or if you’ve been invited here.”

He blinked, his head pounding dully. “You… help-”

“Yes, from a spell gone wrong to broken limbs, we try to help however we need to!” Her words were practiced, as though she’d recited them for years.

Rhys took another sip of his drink, giving himself time to think. They were here to help him. Their auras held no lie, and he really did need the help, but… He was most likely being hunted. The man wasn’t going to just let him go, not when he’d been so crazed. They were in danger as long as they were around him.

The man, Jack, stood behind Angel, silent, but watchful. He had on several layers of clothes, almost like he’d been so busy, he hadn’t bothered to remove any jacket when he put on the next. “So, wanna tell us your name?” he asked, arms crossed.

“Uh…” He shook his head and pulled the covers off him. He began to slide off the bed. “No, I should leave…” His feet gave way from under him, sending him to the floor.

Before he fell, Jack caught him, faster than Rhys’ eyes could follow. “You’re not going anywhere, sweetheart, you’re too weak.”

“I can’t stay here,” Rhys shook his head.

“Why?” Jack asked.

Large, terrified orbs stared at Jack, pleading with him. “Please?” Rhys whispered. He gripped at Jack’s arms, trying to get his balance. “I need to leave.”

Jack pushed him gently to the bed, forcing Rhys to sit. He still wore his clothes, soaked in blood, his sleeve was ripped, showing bandages around the light blue telltale signs. Rhys curled that arm into his chest, eyes widening. They knew what he was. It would happen all over again, they would try to use him.

“It’s okay,” Angel said. She rolled up her left sleeve, exposing her own blue markings. She smiled. “I’m one too. You’re safe here, no one is going to try to use you.”

Rhys’ hand slowly fell into his lap. He was exhausted. His life had been safe before too, and now… Now he would be hunted and he had something new inside him that he knew nothing about.

“Well, you obviously didn’t do this to yourself.”

Rhys glared. “Of course I didn’t.”

The older man watched him, a hint of a smile curling his lips. “Which means that someone else did this to you. Wanna tell us who?”

Rhys flinched. “I-I’m not…” His throat dried and he coughed picking up his glass again. He couldn’t say it, couldn’t deny it. He was in danger and he was afraid. He was terrified of the man’s anger and the wrath that would rain down when he finally found Rhys.

“See, this is why I can’t let you leave. You’re in danger and I can help you.”

Again Rhys shook his head, his voice low. “As long as I’m around, you’re in danger, lots of it.”

And to Rhys’ surprise, Jack grinned, wide and excited. He looked at Angel, who smirked back at him. “Well, we’ll finally get some excitement, won’t we?”

“What?” Rhys’ eyes were large as he stared incredulously at them.

“Danger is exactly what we all need, don’t you think Angel?”

She nodded. “I think danger will spice things up around her just fine. It’ll give the Lady and Sir something to focus on. I’ll go warn the others.” She left the room.

Rhys’ mouth hung open. “N-no! You can’t! You don’t understand! He’s not going to stop, I, I messed up, I messed it up for him.” He tried to stand again, but Jack took hold of his shoulders and kept him in place.

“Nuh uh, darlin’, you don’t understand. You teleported here so I could help you. That’s how this works, you need help and I help ya. That’s what I do. Gotta even out all the evil I’ve done in my past.”

Rhys stared. So that’s what their auras meant. He swallowed. “What, what about your daughter?”

“She can handle anything, she’s handled me for well over two hundred years.”

“What did she mean by others?”

Jack stepped away from him to pull a comfortable looking chair over. He sat down, relaxing, his legs spread wide, arms casual on the armrests. He smirked. “You’re in my home, teleported here. Welcome to Handsome Manor, where those who are magical and in need come for sanctuary and help. You’re talking to Jack Handsome, one of the most powerful- if not the most powerful- wizards of all time.”

“Handsome?” Rhys asked critically. “That’s seriously your last name?”

“Damn right, baby.” His grin was wider, cockier. “Gotta match my true form, right?”

“Sure,” Rhys said, rolling his eyes.

“Oh, c’mon, you don’t think I’m charming or dashing?” Jack sat up, posing cheesily for Rhys.

Rhys stared, unimpressed, forcing his twitching lips to keep a thin line. “I guess… In that… asshole-ish way?” At this his lips broke into a smile.

That caught Jack’s gaze and he stared openly at it. “Gotta say, I never expected a cute thing like you to appear at my home, not complainin’ though, I get the feeling I’m going to like the company.”

Rhys felt his face heat. He had not been ready for that, for flirtations. He was beaten and bloody, how in the world did he look cute? “You’re full of it,” he replied, smiling despite himself.

“True, but that doesn’t make what I said any less true.”

They stared at each other for a moment, before Rhys cleared his throat. “Uhm, I’m, I’m Rhys…”

He was rewarded with a warm smile. “Hello, Rhys, welcome to my home.”

“Thank you…” Exhaustion overwhelmed him and his head began to spin and his vision blur. He swayed, losing his balance.

Again, Jack was moving faster than humanly possible, catching him before he fell off the bed. “Okay, time to lay down. You need to rest some more still.”

As Rhys tried to tell Jack he was fine, his lids became the heaviest they’d ever been and he drifted off to sleep.

* * *

He was confined to his bed for two more days and then, when he was able to stand without getting faint, he was allowed to walk around his room. He was given some clothes that fit him perfectly. He was grateful to be out of those and have a bath, but the excitement of his freedom from the bed only lasted a day before he became restless. He paced around the room, pausing only for moments at the window before pacing again. He sighed, aching to get out, feeling caged and suffocated.

As the door open, he heard Jack yelp. The door was pushed open with his foot and then closed with it as he held a tray of food in his hand. He stopped to stare at the room. “Woah, Rhys…”

“What?” He followed Jack’s gaze. The wallpaper was peeling off the walls, as though melted. He gasped, noticing the crackling energy around the room for the first time and the clicks of the lamps as they flickered gently. “Oh!” He tried to focus on calming himself down, tried to clear his mind and breath like he’d grown up doing. It always worked for him and always got his powers under control.

But then Jack exclaimed and the tray fell from his hands. “Wow, that’s hot!”

“Oh no! I’m so sorry!” Rhys gasped. “I can usually control it, I, I guess after the other night- I mean… I think I’m just restless?”

Jack spoke a few words, motioning with his hands over the tray. It moved, as though back trekking its path and returning to the neatness it had been before Jack dropped it. It then floated to a table. “You know, I can only help you if you tell me what happened? I will do my best, but it would be more efficient if I knew more details.”

The wallpaper began to peel farther near the area Rhys was closest to.

Jack put his hands up. “I’m just saying, pumpkin. Though, I gotta say, Angel’s never made wallpaper come off the walls before, not even when she has no control over her powers.” He sat down in the chair opposite to where the tray had rested. With a flick of his hand the lid of the plate began to float and was set to the side. “You hungry?”

It was getting hard to hide that something was different about it, especially if it was coming out through his emotions. He moved around to the table and sat down in front of the food. He stared at it, unsure if he should touch it, he didn’t want his new powers to affect it. He tried to focus again and calm down, but his stomach still fluttered and the wallpaper fell further down the wall.

He huffed, annoyed. “Look, do I have to stay in here another day?”

Jack smirked. “I don’t I should even if I wanted to, not unless I want my house to melt.”

Rhys winced, the lights flickering. “I’m really sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Jack stretched back in his chair. “Eat up, and then I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

Rhys smiled wide and grabbed his sandwich, munching it excitedly.

“Why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?” Jack asked. “Like, where you lived and if there’s anyone we need to get word to?”

Eyes wide, Rhys shook his head. “No, no I don’t think that would be a good idea, I don’t want my- I don’t want to put them in more danger…”

“You _really_ think you’re in that much trouble?”

“I just… I want to be on the safe side. This, this person isn’t one to let things go… Especially if they’ve been cheated…”

Nodding, Jack grabbed the plate with the rest of Rhys’ food on it. “C’mon, sitting here is boring.” He waited for Rhys to follow him and lead him through the mansion. “This is the second floor where all the bedrooms are, pretty boring, but downstairs, that’s less boring.”

Rhys giggled. “I dunno, I bet bedrooms can be pretty entertaining.”

Jack’s grin was wide. “Ha! That’s very true! I know I’ve been accused of that more than a few times!” He lead Rhys to the first set of doors they came to, but when they heard a man and a woman yelling, he winced. “Uh, let’s… Let’s pick a different room to start in… Best to let them fight it out on their own…”

“Who?” Rhys asked, taking a bite of his sandwich. He could see vague explosive colors of auras through the wall. That was new, normally, he needed to be in the same room to see them. They were similar to each other, but in completely opposite ways.

“Lady and Sir Hammerlock, siblings that are here under court order until they can get their anger against each other under control…”

“I see they’re doing great.”

Again, Jack winced. “I tried to work with them in the beginning but…” He shivered. “It wasn’t worth it. They both seek the same things, rare and interesting creatures, except Alistair wants to learn and study them and Aurelia wants to mount them on her walls. And don’t even get them started on how a proper wizard uses their powers. That argument is what got them jailed here.”

They came to another room, where two persons of identical nature were lounging. One was reading a book with their leg crossed over the other in an armchair, while the other sat cross-legged on a desk, leaning over their lap, lost in a notebook. They were a surprising sight for Rhys, both wearing the same suit, no jacket, with metal bracers on their wrists and arms, but most notable, was the helmet. It was a very advanced piece of technology, with green lights shining out of eye slits. The only difference he could see between the two was the one in the chair had dots painted over the mask, almost like freckles.

“Here we go!” Jack said. “This is Rhys, our newest guest.” The two looked up from their work to greet him. Jack continued. “That, in the chair is Timothy Lawrence, he’s suffering from a broken mimikry spell that even I, the best wizard in the world, can’t fix.” He pointed to the one sitting on the desk. “And _that creature_ , always sitting on my furniture, is Zer0, they got themselves into a bit of a bind, first was the language spell gone awry, so now they can only speak in haikus, but the dimwit also thought they could cast spells properly in that condition and tried to cast a teleportation spell, which is now also thoroughly mucked up.”

Zer0 shrugged. “I have no regrets; using a written language; the most beautiful.”

“Wow!” Rhys said, eyes widening. He set his sandwich on the plate Jack still held and made his way over to Zer0. “Wow! This is some incredible tech! What are the censors made out of? Do they help you see anything more than normal vision? How sustainable is it? Can you take it off or is it just like… on there? Not that I’m asking you to take it off, that would be rude! Oh, my uncle would just _love_ to see this! He’s an inventor! He made my arm, though you can’t see it now, but…” Rhys’ words slowed as his reality came crashing back to him. He cleared his throat. “Sorry…”

Zer0 laughed quietly. And then they disappeared, along with their work. Rhys blinked, taking several steps back. Jack was standing next to him, then, holding out the plate. “That’s what happens, they’re somewhere around the property, that little magic force field that hides our magic keeps them trapped inside. It was hell trying to track Zer0 down, they would teleport all over the world.”

Rhys nodded as he continued to eat. The man in the chair now looked like Jack, except that freckles were deeply splattered over his face and hands. He smiled shyly and waved. “Hello, I didn’t want to speak earlier, it’s kinda annoying to always have to talk in haikus, though I know Zer0’s never bothered by it.” It was strange watching Jack talk so differently. “Don’t worry, I won’t mimic you today, I need to be around you for a while before it sets in. And they’ll be able to tell us apart with my freckles,” he laughed, pointing to them. “Go figure, the one thing I actually wanted to change is now the only original thing of me that’s stayed.”

Jack lead him from the room. As they walked, Rhys was quiet, finally taking the other half of his sandwich. “Ah,” Jack said suddenly. “Sasha! There you are, where’s your sister?”

A tan woman with short dreadlocks, shrugged as she dusted. “Don’t know, somewhere.”

“This is Rhys, a new guest.”

“ _Perfect_ ,” she cooed, rolling her eyes.

“Don’t take offense, Rhys, she’s like that with everyone. Very bitter since she’s on probation.”

She glared at Jack. Through her attitude though, Rhys found her aura pleasant and happy. He smiled at this.

Jack leaned into Rhys. “They got caught robbing a bank and would have gone to jail if I hadn’t paid the fine for them. Now they’re working it off.” When Sasha rolled her eyes, Jack whispered louder. “Don’t be fooled, their expertise in magic is illusion.”

Sasha threw her hand up, flipping Jack off. “See this?” Rhys’ brows rose, he’d thought only Yvette did something so unlady-like.

Jack bellowed in laughter and pulled Rhys away. “That’s just precious!” As they left, Jack shook his head, laughter quieting so he could genuinely whisper to Rhys. “Don’t tell anyone, but they’re my favorites of our guests. Next up is the kitchen to meet our resident cook, August!” Jack leaned in again. “He’s hiding here like you are, but he’s hiding from his mom who is a major crime boss.”

Rhys’ brows rose as he chewed on the last bits of his sandwich. They entered the kitchen to see items floating in a perfect line, making their way over to the man at the stove.

“Go away, I’m making dinner.” As he said this, the plate Jack held was lifted away from him and floated over to the sink.

“I’m just introducing our new guest, Rhys.”

“I don’t see how that has anything to do with me.”

Jack leaned into Rhys. “He’s a little touchy-” As he whispered this a fireball was hurled at him. Jack easily deflected it. He grinned wide as he lead Rhys quickly from the room. He showed Rhys around the rest of the house, stopping lastly in the library, which had Rhys gasping and leaving Jack’s side to investigate. The room was bright with sunshine, all the curtains pulled back, revealing two window seats littered with large, fluffy pillows.

“You have _so_ many books!” His smile was wide, he scanned them, gasping and removing a book, only to want to remove another. He frowned when he realized he was in a conundrum with only one hand.

“I can hold them for you.”

“Really?” Rhys’ eyes were wide and hopeful.

Laughing, Jack nodded. “Sure, anything to keep you this cute and happy.”

That earned him a giggle. “Careful, I may take advantage of that!”

The older man’s grin widened. “Please do.”

A light flush swept over Rhys’ cheeks and he returned to the books. “You have all the books I’ve been saving up to buy!”

With a flick of his wrist and a small mumble, the books were floating, allowing Jack to step closer to Rhys. “Yes, what was your work?”

Rhys smiled. He supposed that information wouldn’t give anything away. “I was a waiter at a cafe.”

“I bet you were just great,” Jack mused.

Setting a book in the air for Jack to add to the pile, Rhys shrugged. “My mechanical arm was cool.”

“The arm that your uncle made.”

At that Rhys winced. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

Jack slid to the other side of Rhys to lean against the built-in bookshelves, stopping the younger man’s path. “You can trust me, ya know, sweetheart? We’re not exactly human here. Angel and I have been around for a long time. We can hold our own. We _can_ help you.”

Rhys sighed, his eyes falling to the floor. “It’s just… I feel like if I say anything about it, he’ll know, I don’t even want to think about his name in case he…” Rhys shivered and bit his lip.

Jack nodded. “Alright, sugar.” He scrutinized the pile of ten books. “You think you’ll actually be able to read all of this?”

Rhys nodded frantically. “Absolutely!”

Smirking, Jack quirked a brow. “So, you’re planning on staying then? Gotta say you certainly light up the place.”

Laughing, Rhys playfully shoved him away so he could look for more books. “You always this scandalous?”

“Only for those who are worth it.” Jack leaned once more on the shelf, blocking Rhys’ path. “I am rather shameless, and I go for what I want.” He leaned in to whisper. “And I usually get it.”

“I’ll bet you do,” Rhys giggled, returning Jack’s grin with a shy smile. The lights, which were off, began to flicker. Rhys flushed horribly and cleared his throat, moving around Jack to continue his journey through the books. The flickering slowed to a stop.

Jack did not say anything, but he didn’t have to, the triumphant, arrogant smirk was enough. Rhys pretended not to notice, already embarrassed that his lack of control had given him away. “So,” Rhys said, changing the subject. “You help magical beings in need? Why?” He was curious about the blackness he’d seen deep in Jack’s aura.

The wizard shrugged. “I’m atoning for my wicked past. For every innocent I killed, I need to help twice as many.” That caught Rhys’ attention, and he looked at Jack, at the man’s aura which was thick with remorse. Jack continued. “I was, as Angel put it, soulless and evil. I would hunt down wizards and extract their life-force from them, making me that much more powerful.”

“What made you change your ways?” Rhys asked quietly.

“Angel…” His smile was thin. “She’s saved me more times than she knows.”

“You’re very brave, Jack,” Rhys said. “It takes a lot to change like that, a lot of courage and hard work.”

Jack was silent, staring at Rhys. The man’s aura was shifting, becoming lighter, appreciative, among another that had Rhys trying hard not to flush. He cleared his throat again and went back to looking at books when he suddenly gasped.

“This was the one I was reading!” Rhys pulled it from the shelf and hugged it to himself. He smiled wide at Jack. “I can finish it! It was getting really good!” The lights once more flickered, but this time, books began to float off the shelves, crackling with energy. “Oh no!” Rhys gasped, taking several steps backwards.

He ran into Jack, who rested a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry, remember, sweetheart? Uncontrolled magic is common here.” He leaned in close. “Just take a deep breath and relax, it’s okay. Remember that this is a part of you, like breathing. You practice your magic with your uncle?”

Rhys nodded, taking deep breaths.

“So, this should be a snap! It’s okay if you don’t have control of it right away.”

That reminded Rhys of that day his uncle told him to just let it go, to let it go wild, they would clean it up later and it would be alright. He dropped the control he was holding onto and let his powers do what they would do. The lights glowed bright, almost blinding and the books began to dance around the room, circling furiously and wildly. He felt the pent up energy broiling up inside him begin to eb away. He let out a long, satisfied sigh, lips curling into a smile.

“I knew you could do it,” Jack encouraged, his voice low and proud.

He couldn’t believe he’d forgotten one of the most important rules his uncle had given him. Accept your powers and work with them, not against them. The lights dimmed until they were no longer shining. Rhys smiled widely at Jack and then at the books flying all around. He frowned at them. “What?” he muttered to himself. Through his broken eye, he could see the auras of the books, glaring and angry. The books had auras. That was new.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asked.

“I…” he huffed. “It’s going to be a while to sort these.”

“They just go back alphabetically by author and then by title name.”

Rhys shook his head. “I can’t do that, that’s not going to work, not for them.” He nodded at the books.

“Oh,” Jack said, brows furrowed in confusion. “Okay?… I’ll just…” He sat down in a chair and muttered a spell, making a large book appear in his lap. He cracked it open and began to read.

It was several hours later when Rhys finally finished. He spent his time pacing up and down the shelves placing and rearranging books with his powers. It was good practice and gave Rhys a sense of normalcy for the first time. This was a power he was used to and it was working properly. When he was done, he flopped in the chair next to Jack, smiling the widest and happiest grin the older man had yet seen.

He surveyed the books. “Are… _they_ happy now?”

“Yes! They’re still grouped by author, but it’s much, much more balanced!”

“I’ll let the others know. Do you do this with all the books you see?”

Sheepishly, Rhys shook his head. “No, this… This is new… A lot of things with my powers are new now…”

“I’ve been thinking about that. About you not being able to tell me. I think I know how you can without using words.”

“What is it?” Rhys asked, curling his feet to his chest.

“It’s a spell that will let us share minds for a moment and let me see what you want me to see. No words will be said, but I’ll know.”

Rhys’ eyes widened. “That sounds perfect, but will you feel anything?”

That made the wizard frown. “I shouldn’t.”

Rhys was thoughtful for a while. “I guess… It couldn’t hurt to try, right? You should know what you’re getting into keeping me here… How does it work?”

“Just gotta hold my hand,” Jack grinned, reaching out his across the space between them. Hesitantly, Rhys reached out for it, feeling Jack’s warm, slightly rough hands wrap around his. His thumb smoothed over Rhys’ skin reassuringly as he whispered the incantation.

Everything was dark and Rhys focused his mind to that day, to the events leading to it. They were standing in Rhys’ kitchen, watching as Rhys talked with his uncle, every word seeping into them. Then, he was off to work and they followed, unmoving, but gliding along through Rhys’ day to the moment he’d seen _him_. Rhys stiffened, his grip on Jack tightening. They watched the interaction, the capture, the fade to black as Rhys fell unconscious and then came to to hear the explanation and watch the struggle and the slicing of his arm. Rhys squeezed his eyes shut, his body shaking from the memory.

And then the pain seared through Rhys as the glow of magic went back into his arm. He fell to his knees, the pain he’d felt that night scorching through him once more. It was impossible, they were just supposed to be watching, not reliving it. He tried to pull his hand away from Jack, afraid of making him feel it, but Jack only tightened his grasp, kneeling down to worry over him. His other hand rested on Rhys’ back and Rhys felt the transfer, felt Jack suddenly double over next to him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/


	3. Chapter 3

It happened in seconds. They were moving backwards in Rhys’ mind, to all the pain he’d felt, back into the chair, blacking out, the suffocating heat, the sight and instinct of _the man’s_ aura black and seeping. Back even still, through all the days with his uncle raising him, working in his lab, building Rhys’ arm, Rhys running away from Wil in hopes of finding his parents. His uncle was wrong, his parents would return, they always did. Then his uncle was bringing him to his home from the hospital, the painful surgery of severing his arm from his shoulder, Rhys crying over his parent’s broken and bloody bodies in the wet, muddy grass under the thunderstorm. The car accident. The trip to their new house in the town his uncle lived in, the packing, the explanation that they needed to move, Rhys’ friend seeing Rhys’ arm. The rest of his life moving backwards to his first memories, then, just as quickly, it shot back through, this time in order, all the way to Angel and Jack, the handsome duck who saved Rhys’ life.

And then something happened. Rhys watched the same scenes he’d lived, but now he was looking at himself from afar, shutting and opening the door, walking down the stairs, laughing and chatting with Angel. Finding Rhys bloody in the garden, the days living with the renters, setting the protection spell around the mansion and buying it. The days spent with Angel where the two were finally happy. Moving from place to place, Angel being angry with him, he’d betrayed her over and over again, why should she trust him this time? Jack sobbing on the floor of a destroyed room, Jack destroying that room, breaking furniture, busting walls, yelling and screaming, days spent in alcoholic, opium fueled daze with lovers he’ll never remember. Spending those terrible days next to Angel in a bed while she was too close to death, holding her almost lifeless body, the shock and anguish when Jack realized he’d struck his own daughter down, the attack of the intruder trying to ruin his empire, the dark, horrid days of his ruling, all the destruction he caused and the deaths of those who disagreed with him. Back they went, watching Jack steal the powers of wizards through their deaths, Angel’s powers coming to the surface at the accidental demise of his wife, their marriage, Jack’s troubled childhood with his grandmother and all the different, thoughtful ways of abuse. Rhys felt it all, the hurt, the pain, the anger, it welled inside him like it had Jack. And then, just as with Rhys, once the memories got to Jack’s first memory, they whizzed back in order, all the way to the moment Jack had linked them.

They were flung apart from each other, the whole room quaking, everything falling off shelves, tables, and walls. The room filled with ash as the wallpaper peeled off, disintegrating as it went, the lights shining brighter and brighter until they burst.

Rhys was on the floor, piled under books and a lamp. He groaned, moving so he could push the books off his face. His body throbbed like before, needles digging into him. “Shit,” he huffed, forcing himself to sit up through the immense pain. He blinked at the floating ash cutting through the sunlight. His eyes widened at the room. “Shit!” he hissed.

 _Language._ Jack snapped. Then, from across the room there was movement where Jack gasped. “Oh, shit.”

Rhys rolled his eyes, so they weren’t allowed to swear, but Jack was?

 _This is different_ , Jack huffed.

Again, Rhys rolled his eyes, but as he sat on the floor, covered in books that burned as they pressed into him, he looked at the destruction he’d caused. Ash was falling in a thin layer over everything. Guilt raked through him. He’d made a simple spell into something chaotic and unknown. _And he’d made Jack feel everything. All the awful pain in his life_.

“You felt everything too, Rhys, all of my memories,” Jack said, standing to his feet. He whispered an incantation and all the items piled on Rhys were removed. All the other things around the room began to move, shaking off the ashes and floating in the air. He began to maneuver them back to their designated spots.

Rhys winced as a chair’s aura screamed at him. It didn’t want to be there.

“What?” Jack groaned. “It’s gonna be like this with the furniture too? Well then, where would the chair like to go?” Jack sighed as the answer came to him. “Right.” And he moved it to the exact spot Rhys had been thinking of.

Rhys tucked his chin into his legs, the guilt and frustration rising. He’d hurt Jack and who knew who else he’d hurt while his magic was this out of control.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Jack said, setting the coffee table where he saw it in Rhys’ mind. “You’re perfectly safe here.”

 _Tell that to the wallpaper_ , Rhys sighed.

“Wallpaper can be fixed, sweetheart, especially when you’re as rich as I am.” At this Jack smirked.

Through the door hanging on its hinges, heads from the guests peaked in. Zer0, Timothy as Sasha, Sasha, another woman Rhys knew as Fiona, Sasha’s sister, and the other two he hadn’t officially met, Aurelia and Alistair Hammerlock.

“Woah,” Fiona said. “What happened?”

“We’re rearranging,” Jack said easily.

Timothy sneezed. “What’s with all the dust.”

“It’s _not_ dust, my dear,” Aurelia sniffed. “It’s _ash_ , from something burning.”

“Oh…”

Sasha whistled. “I hope you’re not thinking of rearranging the kitchen?”

Jack grunted.

“Who’s the new kid?” Aurelia asked.

“Rhys,” Jack answered.

“Does he talk?” the woman sneered. “Or has he too fumbled a simple speaking spell?”

“Must you always be so dreadful?” Alistair huffed.

“It’s a simple question!”

At this, the others began to disperse, cringing away from the arguing siblings. Sir Hammerlock too tried to leave, but his sister followed, not finished with what she wanted to say.

They were alone again. “It’s going to be okay, pumpkin, we’ll get this figured out.” Rhys knew what Jack was talking about. After all, Jack now knew who was after Rhys and what had happened, all the raw magic that had been sucked up into him.

Rhys hugged his leg closer, even though the contact burned his skin. He hoped they could figure this out.

“Awe, you don’t feel even a tiny bit safer with good ol’ Jack around?” Jack smirked as he placed a doily on a side table, followed by the only unbroken lamp in the room.

It made Rhys smile. He did feel safer with Jack around, knowing everything he knew now. The wizard was a force to be reckoned with and would give that monster a run for his money.

“There we go,” Jack smirked. “Now, why don’t you put these books back?”

Rhys’ eyes widened. “I don’t know if I should… What if…”

“Not a chance, buttercup, you’ve done it before, you can do it again.” Jack released the books from his spell forcing Rhys to catch them with his magic.

“That was rude,” Rhys said quietly, knowing Jack could see the very subtle playfulness.

He was a third of the way through sorting the books once more when Angel came in. She blinked at the mess and then at her father, sitting in the closest chair to Rhys. “What on Earth? Dad, what happened!?”

“Nothing, baby girl, just redecorating.”

She crossed her arms and cocked her hip. “I want you to look around the room, at all the ash on the floor, then at the busted door, and then look me in the eye and tell me nothing weird happened.”

Rhys quietly put a book on the shelf, swallowing the hard knot of guilt. This was all his fault.

“Don’t even apologize,” Jack said to him. “This place gets blown up all the time, mostly by that mad woman.”

“She goes by Gaige and she’s been here long enough for you to remember her name. You’re just being rude. Anyway, I went into town today and I saw some wanted posters with Rhys’ face on them.”

Panic swelled inside Rhys. The books began to fall, but Rhys caught them again, the air crackling between them.

“I said it wasn’t your fault,” Jack said. He looked at Angel. “What did they say?”

Angel sighed. “There’s a big price on your head… They say you attacked-”

“Don’t say his name,” Jack warned. “And _he_ attacked Rhys, among other things,” his voice turned into a growl, anger at the memory swelling.

Angel shrugged. “I figured, I never liked that asshole.”

“Language.”

Angel cocked her hip. “He is though.”

“I know.”

“So, what are we going to do? And how are you two going to sever that telepathic connection you’ve got going on?”

“What?” Rhys and Jack asked at the same time.

Angel smirked. “Yeah, Rhys hasn’t said a word since I’ve been here.”

Jack frowned. “No, he was going to.”

“And how do you know that, hmm?” Angel smirked.

Rhys’ eyes were wide as he stared at Jack. He hadn’t said anything after the spell was cast, Jack had just known and answered him.

“Damn,” Jack hissed.

Rhys frowned. _Language_.

Jack winced. “Alright, alright!” He stood and began to pace. _Go back to your sorting_ , he told Rhys.

Rolling his eyes, Rhys did so. It gave him something to focus on anyway.

Angel turned to the doors and, whispering, reattached them to the door frame.

It wasn’t safe here for the others, not while Rhys was here and the monster was out there trying to find him.

“We’ll address it at dinner,” Jack answered. “And about,” he waved his hand to indicate the connection between them. “I’ll do some research about it.” _And about the stone_.

* * *

Though Rhys’ organizing was faster the second time around, and he had found a better rearrangement, it was dinner now and Jack had to wrangle him away from the library.

“I’m almost done!” Rhys whined, pulling back into the room to move the books back onto the shelves. He knew the reason Jack was so insistent, August didn’t like the food getting cold before they started eating, but Rhys couldn’t leave the books unhappy as they were.

“Rhys,” Jack said. “We need to go.”

Rhys dug his heels in. “I know, I know, but I’m almost-” he gasped happily as Jack let go of him. Rhys moved back into the library to finish, he only had about thirty more books left. He gasped again as he felt Jack’s mind. “No!” he pleaded. The lights in the library flashed on and off as Jack pounced on Rhys.

Jack ducked, his shoulder poking Rhys’ stomach as he hoisted Rhys over his shoulder and walked him out of the room. Rhys whined as they heard the books crash to the floor. “You’re so mean!” Rhys pouted.

“No, August is mean, he’ll refuse us food if we’re late and I can’t go another dinner staring at others eating all that delicious food.” Jack shivered. “Never again, Rhysie.”

The nickname stopped Rhys’ complaints, his heart warming at the endearment. It had just slipped from Jack, and the man wasn’t ashamed of it. He smiled at Rhys’ reaction, his own heart warming.

“This is weird, right?” Rhys asked.

“Yes.”

Rhys let out a large puff of breath. “Oh good, I was worried that it was just me, though I know this has never happened to you before and it’s strange that our minds aren’t crumbling with all the excess memories and information, that’s gotta be a magic perk, right?” As Rhys rambled on nervously, the lights began to flicker. He’d been dwelling on these thoughts all day and now they were tumbling out between them. “I wonder what I did to cause this? Was it because I was so scared that it would happen that I caused it to happen? Ugh, I always forget to just breathe and be calm. It’s also even more strange because we know _everything_ about each other, all our quirks, all the small moments of all of our lives, but we hardly know each other.”

When Jack finally set Rhys on the ground, right outside the dinner hall, the younger man was silent. They were about to go in a room with others and he was supposed to act normal, like he wasn’t connected to Jack or like he hadn’t become a super juiced sorcerer.

Jack rested his hand on Rhys’ shoulder. “Don’t worry so much about it, no one in this house is normal.”

“I know…”

_Especially the basement dweller._

Rhys giggled. “Jack, that’s not nice.”

“It’s true though,” Jack said, opening the door and leading Rhys in. The noise in the room was exponential, arguments and discussions flitted over the open space, trying to reach those across the table. Aurelia and Alistair, though on opposite sides of the table, were standing over it in a heated debate between each other. Timothy, reading a book, shifted from person to person constantly while Zer0 sat on the table, writing still. Angel and a very eccentric looking young woman were in conversation. The woman wore burnt, metal goggles in her hair, soot settling on top of frazzled and singed pigtails. She wore a lab coat that had holes in it that looked like it had been splashed with acid, along with many notes that were pinned to it.

Rhys remembered when she first came to the door, bursting past Jack and rambling nonsensically about the interior. And she had never left, camping in the basement and working on developing technology that produced magic. Mechromagic, she called it.

“Oh!” She gasped suddenly, noticing Rhys. “You’re the new one!” She stood up from her chair, knocking it over. She went to climb over the table, but Angel grabbed her arm, anchoring her to one spot. Aurelia, sitting on the other side of the crazed woman, sneered and scooted as far from her as she could. Gaige did not notice. “You’ve been making the lights flicker ever since you got here! Is that an overflow of your powers, or do you just do it for fun? I’ve never met another sorcerer other than Angel!”

“Gaige!” Angel snapped loudly, tugging the woman’s arm and making her stumble backwards. “Your chair has fallen over.”

“Oh!” Gaige turned to look at it. “Right!” She picked it up and before she could ask more questions of Rhys, Angel asked her something that caught her full attention.

Rhys tried to quell the ingrained panic that now more people knew. He felt Jack’s presence wrap around the worry and comfort him, and then his warm hand rested at the small of his back, leading him to the seat next to Jack’s. It would be okay, the others could be trusted with that secret.

August, Sasha, and Fiona came into the dining room, wheeling in carts and served out the dishes. They gave Zer0 theirs first, which was set in their lap. Zer0 tucked their writing pad away, hopped off from the table and headed out of the room. Zer0 never ate with them, which made everyone even more curious about them. The last two plates were for Sasha and Fiona, who sat down in the two open seats to join the group in dinner. August began to retreat back to the kitchen, where he would eat alone in silence.

“One moment everyone,” Jack called. Zer0 stopped in the doorway, cocking their head to the side while August huffed loudly. Jack stood as he addressed the room. “Rhys, our newest guest, is hiding here, but the person he’s hiding from is very, very dangerous and is after Rhys’ life. I don’t know when, but it can be assumed this person is powerful enough to find us and do a lot of ruthless damage. If this is too much for you, arrangements can be made.”

The room was silent, but Rhys’ mind was awash with guilt and fear and worry. August grunted and went into the kitchen. Zer0 shrugged and left as well.

“Angel already told us. We could have left days ago if we were worried,” one of them said. The others around the table murmured an agreement or shrugged.

“Besides,” Aurelia said, setting her cloth napkin in her lap. “Why would we care about some murderous person? We’ll just kill them, correct?”

“Must you _always_ resort to violence?” Alistair growled from across the table.

His sister huffed. “Well, what would _you_ like to do with the insect?”

Sir Hammerlock puffed in his mustache. “Well, I… I suppose in this instance, mounting this insect to a board would be for the best…”

“Ha!” Aurelia smirked.

“Wow!” Gaige said, leaning into Aurelia, her eyes large, surprised orbs. “You guys just agreed on something!”

As though she’d been slapped, Aurelia gasped, glaring at Gaige. “We did not!” And with a wave and an incantation, water poured from her hand onto Gaige. Rhys winced, knowing from Jack’s mind that Gaige was immune to magic. The water hit her, only to bounce off and spray everything around her, which included Aurelia, and the food.

A horrified shriek erupted from Lady Hammerlock. She stumbled out of her chair. “You! You! _Abomination_!” She snarled, smoke rising from her. “You are _so_ annoying! How did you even find this place!? You’re a filthy human!”

Gaige, completely dry, and unaware of the trouble she’d caused, shrugged.

“Why, _dear sister_ ,” Sir Hammerlock chuckled. “You didn’t forget that Gaige is immune- in the truest sense of the word- to magic, did you?”

In her hand, a fireball began to form, her lips moving silently.

“Hey!” Jack shouted, standing from his seat to stare her down. The edges around him grew dark and foreboding. “Take. It. Outside.”

She glared daggers at Jack, but knew better. The fire dissipated and she stormed out. “I am _leaving_ this place!”

“Oh, how I wish you could!” Sir Hammerlock called after her as she slammed the door to the grand hallway.

“Oh,” Gaige said suddenly. “My food is all soggy…”

“Oh, Gaige,” Angel sighed. She stared at the plate, smirking when Gaige gasped as it returned to normal. “Thank you!” She dug in.

Rhys quietly ate his food, wondering if it was always this chaotic.

 _Yes_ , Jack answered.

Of course it was. Rhys wondered if he’d ever get used to it.

_You plannin’ on staying for awhile, then?_

He was flirting with Rhys, something he was only mildly used to from his work, but he never had to respond to it, just smile and serve their order. He floundered, his stomach fluttering wildly and his mind grinding to a halt. What was he supposed to say?

He heard Jack chuckle quietly next to him.

 _Shut up_! Rhys huffed silently.

Jack did not shut up.

* * *

Rhys was exhausted after dinner, the food settling him after a harrowing day. His lids were getting heavy as it came to a close.

He stood, his body tired from aching all day and then some. He stifled a yawn, he still needed to finish putting those books back-

 _No way, pumpkin_ , Jack answered. His hand was once more on the small of Rhys’ back. “You need to rest.”

“I’m fine, it won’t take long…” But they both knew it would.

“Nuh uh, you can take care of it tomorrow. Let’s go.” He ushered Rhys straight past the room, pulling him close when Rhys tried to walk to it, despite stumbling over his tired feet. Jack did not have to say ‘I told you so,’ not when Rhys could feel it in his soul.

“Shuddup,” he yawned.

“Damn, you’re cute when you’re tired.”

Rhys was too tired to be shy. He smiled, leaning into Jack as they went up the stairs. The wizard held him close, basking in the moment. He deposited Rhys at his room, smirking, the thought unabashedly swirling around his mind. _Want me to tuck you in_?

Giggling, Rhys opened his door. “G’night Jack. Thank you for everything.”

“Anytime, sweetheart.”

Jack winked and walked away, heading up to the attic where his study was.

Alone now, Rhys went about getting ready for bed, feeling the distance grow more and more between him and Jack. He was too tired to frown, but he wasn’t sure he liked it, or what that even meant. He changed into pajamas, crawled into bed and stared at his empty room. At the silence of the night.

A tear slid from his eye to drip off the bridge of his nose. He was tired and sore and his life was in danger and there were strangers who were willing to fight for him. To fight against a foe they did not know. A man who was cruel and ruthless, his aura lingering like molasses.

Rhys shivered, digging his head into his pillow as he very quickly began to sob. He hadn’t had time to fully process what had happened, not with everything going on. And now, alone in his room with nothing to distract him, it all came tumbling onto him. He sobbed, the lights flickering all around him, wallpaper curling even further down as the room filled with electricity. He didn’t worry about it, if he did, he would want to start controlling it and it would only make things worse. Instead, he just let himself cry until there was nothing left and he was reduced back to silence, eyes puffy, body even more heavy and tired than earlier.

He could feel Jack’s presence, desperate to help Rhys and comfort him, but not wanting to crowd him. He’d thrown himself into work, ignoring the ache in his chest at Rhys’ pain. At his inability to take away the trauma that had happened and the near death that he’d been exposed to simply for being different. A deep seeded anger welled in the back of Jack’s mind that he kept tempered so Rhys didn’t get bombarded with it while he was dealing with his own emotions.

Curled into his wet pillow, Rhys smiled. Jack. The unexpected, duck haired man who was able to make him smile through all of this. Who made him feel safe and strove to prove that he was. His mind wandered to him. Past his room to the attic, reaching out instinctively, but then stopping. He didn’t want to intrude, didn’t know if it would be rude. They hardly knew each other even if they knew everything about the other, he didn’t want to interrupt Jack or seem too needy.

But Jack was already there, pulling him up into the room and fully into his mind. _It’s always okay for you to intrude_. Rhys didn’t speak for the rest of the night, or think about anything, just listened to the inner workings of Jack’s mind. He could hear Jack’s inner voice reading, with his mind working through all the information and making connections. It was a nice distraction and soothed Rhys into a deep and peaceful sleep.

* * *

It was during the night a few days later that Rhys awoke to noise in his room. His body stilled, mind racing. There were voices. He felt Jack jerk to attention and leave whatever late night studying he’d been doing. He appeared in Rhys’ room an instant later, standing in front of Rhys and whispering a spell.

There were shouts as three persons were teleported into Rhys’ room. Rhys recognized them immediately and stumbled past Jack, his heart light and excited.

“Uncle Wil!? Vaughn, Yvette!? How’d you guys find me!?”

Jack growled. “Yes, how!? How do you humans keep finding this _hidden_ place?”

Vaughn frowned. “It’s… It’s hidden?” He looked at Yvette, who shrugged.

Wilhelm was on his back, growling. Rhys ran over to him and helped him up, the lights flickering wildly around them in Rhys’ excitement.

“Woah…” Yvette said, standing up with Vaughn. “What’s with the lights?”

“Uncle!” Rhys pulled Wil into a hug when the large man was finally on his feet.

“Roo,” he said, hugging Rhys tightly. “Is this you?”

Sheepishly, Rhys took a step back and nodded. “Something… Something happened, Uncle…”

“That’s why we’re here,” Yvette said.

“Yes,” Vaughn nodded. “We came to warn you.”

Dread chilled Rhys and he stepped back, shaking his head. The wallpaper singed at the tips, turning to ash like a cigarette. He knew the answer, it was the only reason his friends and Uncle would search him out.

Jack was at his side, pulling him close.

His Uncle, always stoic, seemed more so as he spoke. “Tassiter knows where you are.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My tumblr: http://nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: http://nessiefromink.tumblr.com/

**Author's Note:**

> My tumblr: nessiefromspace.tumblr.com/  
> My Borderlands/ fanart tumblr: nessiesspeakeasy.tumblr.com/


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